Best The Wall Reporting On The Border Podcasts (2025)

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Air travel snarled by shutdown; Texas National Guard troops arrive in Chicago 8:31

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22m ago8:31

8:31

The government shutdown is now significantly affecting travelers. Delays are starting to spread nationwide as understaffed air traffic control towers struggle to keep pace. Texas National Guard troops have arrived in Chicago amid a bitter standoff over immigration enforcement between President Donald Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. And on Capi…

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Government shutdown hits the skies, Trump hints at invoking Insurrection Act 9:21

23h ago9:21

9:21

By Straight Arrow News

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Judge blocks Trump’s Portland troop order; Everest rescue race intensifies 8:03

2d ago8:03

8:03

In Portland, President Donald Trump defied a federal court order, calling up California’s National Guard to curb protests in Oregon. Now, a judge has responded, blocking any troop deployment at all. In the Middle East, near the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks, Israel and Hamas are meeting through mediators in Egypt. Both sides have signal…

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John Mathias, "Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala" (U California Press, 2024) 54:27

3d ago54:27

54:27

How can activists strike a balance between fighting for a cause and sustaining relationships with family, friends, and neighbors? In this episode John Mathias joins host Elena Sobrino to talk about Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala (2024, University of California Press). Uncommon Cause follows environmental justice activist…

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Trump wages war on cartels; Amelia Earhart’s long-lost plane possibly found 9:45

5d ago9:45

9:45

President Donald Trump declares the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels. However, critics claim it’s a legal stretch, and Congress hasn’t signed off. Plus, a massive fire erupted at a California oil refinery. The Chevron blaze is now contained, but the investigation into how it started remains ongoing. And a strange object spotted in a re…

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Jürgen Schaflechner, "Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan" (Oxford UP, 2018) 1:26:58

6d ago1:26:58

1:26:58

About two hundred kilometers west of the city of Karachi, in the desert of Baluchistan, Pakistan, sits the shrine of the Hindu Goddess Hinglaj. Despite the temple's ancient Hindu and Muslim history, an annual festival at Hinglaj has only been established within the last three decades, in part because of the construction of the Makran Coastal Highwa…

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Deepa Das Acevedo, "The War on Tenure" (Cambridge UP, 2025) 1:02:47

5d ago1:02:47

1:02:47

As academia increasingly comes under attack in the United States, The War on Tenure (Cambridge UP, 2025) steps in to demystify what professors do and to explain the importance of tenure for their work. Deepa Das Acevedo takes readers on a backstage tour of tenure-stream academia to reveal hidden dynamics and obstacles. She challenges the common bel…

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No vote until Friday on shutdown; Delta jets collide in low-speed crash at LaGuardia 8:39

7d ago8:39

8:39

The federal government remains shut down, and frustration is mounting. With no deal in sight, the White House is preparing to fire, not furlough, some federal workers. Plus, a large flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza has been intercepted by the Israeli navy. Dozens of ships were turned around in a high-profile standoff at sea. And two Delta…

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Shutdown begins as Trump, Hegseth look to combat ‘woke’ military culture: Unbiased Updates, Oct. 1, 2025 10:27

8d ago10:27

10:27

Congress failed to secure funding on Tuesday, prompting the federal government to shut down. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are likely to face furloughs, with paychecks delayed, and the blame game will commence. Plus, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told America’s top generals to ditch “woke” culture and get battle-ready. And federal age…

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Michael Rowe, "Researching Street-Level Bureaucracy: Bringing Out the Interpretive Dimensions" (Routledge, 2024) 40:09

7d ago40:09

40:09

Researching Street-level Bureaucracy: Bringing Out the Interpretive Dimensions (Routledge, 2024) is the first among a number of new titles in the Routledge Series on Interpretive Methods that we’ll be featuring on New Books in Interpretive Political and Social Science. In it, Mike Rowe discusses the continued relevance of the idea of street level b…

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Shutdown just hours away, ICE agent who shoved woman returns to work: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 30, 2025 8:20

8d ago8:20

8:20

Before the day ends, the U.S. government could come to a halt. With no deal in sight, a shutdown looms, putting federal paychecks, programs and services on the line Plus, President Donald Trump has introduced a comprehensive new peace plan for Gaza, promising a ceasefire, hostage releases and a halt to military operations. But will Hamas follow thr…

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Georgios Tsourous, "Orthodox Choreographies: Boundaries, Borders and Materiality in Jerusalem's Old City" (Gorgias Press, 2024) 1:04:05

8d ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Orthodox Choreographies: Boundaries, Borders and Materiality in Jerusalem's Old City (Gorgias Press, 2024) offers a comprehensive anthropological study of lived Christianity in Jerusalem’s Old City, with a special focus on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Church of the Anastasis. Based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork, the study explores t…

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Deadly church shooting in Michigan, and a looming shutdown in Washington: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 29, 2025 8:30

9d ago8:30

8:30

A former Marine crashed his truck into a crowded Sunday service at a Mormon church in Michigan, then opened fire and set the building on fire. Police continue to investigate a motive for the attack. Plus, Washington is once again staring down a federal government shutdown. With the deadline just hours away, Democrats and Republicans remain at a sta…

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Gina Vale, "The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State" (Oxford UP, 2024) 56:55

9d ago56:55

56:55

The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Dr. Gina Vale explores the governance of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization through the lives and words of local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish women. While the roles and activities of foreign (predominantly Western), pro-IS women have garnered significant attentio…

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Kolby Hanson, "Ordinary Rebels: Rank-And-File Militants Between War and Peace" (Oxford UP, 2025) 42:26

11d ago42:26

42:26

In Ordinary Rebels: Rank-And-File Militants Between War and Peace (Oxford University Press, 2025), Kolby Hanson argues that these periods of state toleration do not simply change armed groups' behavior, but fundamentally transform the organizations themselves by shaping who takes up arms and which leaders they follow. This book draws on a set of in…

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Special Report: Illegal by Decree 37:51

11d ago37:51

37:51

Hello, friends! We have a couple of special reports focusing on current issues facing the borderlands: migration. Migration is a contentious and polarizing topic that pundits often use to score political points against their opponents, often overlooking the real stories of people caught in the middle of this deeply entrenched debate. These stories …

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Sniper attack at ICE in Dallas, DOJ prepares indictment against Comey: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 25, 2025 9:20

12d ago9:20

9:20

A sniper opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing one detainee, critically injuring two others and leaving a chilling message carved into the shell casings. Plus, James Comey, once President Donald Trump’s FBI director, is now on the verge of an indictment. Prosecutors are preparing to present the case to a grand jury as early as this week…

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Laurian R. Bowles, "Headstrong: Women Porters, Blackness, and Modernity in Accra" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2025) 1:03:02

14d ago1:03:02

1:03:02

Headstrong: Women Porters, Blackness, and Modernity in Accra (U Pennsylvania Press, 2025) explores the experiences of women porters, called kayayei, in Accra, Ghana. Drawing on a decade of fieldwork, anthropologist Laurian R. Bowles shows how kayayei navigate precarity, bringing into sharp relief how racialization, rooted in histories of colonialis…

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Trump links Tylenol to autism, Jimmy Kimmel prepares late-night comeback: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 23, 2025 9:09

16d ago9:09

9:09

President Donald Trump is advising pregnant women not to take Tylenol. His administration now claims the drug may be linked to autism — a connection health experts say is unproven, and the drugmaker strongly denies. Plus, the president heads to the United Nations on Tuesday for his first address of his second term. From Gaza to Ukraine, all eyes wi…

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Trump honors Charlie Kirk in Arizona, prepares ‘historic’ autism announcement: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 22, 2025 8:45

17d ago8:45

8:45

Tens of thousands filled a stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service — where faith, politics and raw emotion clashed. President Donald Trump called Kirk “bigger now than ever before,” promising him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Plus, in a historic diplomatic move, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal officially recog…

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Xiang Biao and Wu Qi, "Self as Method: Thinking Through China and the World" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) 1:39:40

17d ago1:39:40

1:39:40

Today I had the pleasure of talking to Professor Xiang Biao on his new book, Self as Method: Thinking Through China and the World, which was originally written and published in Chinese. The English translation has just come out with Palgrave Macmillan. Self as Method provides a manifesto of intellectual activism that counsels China’s young people t…

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Trump targets broadcasters, remains found likely fugitive father: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 19, 2025 11:44

19d ago11:44

11:44

President Donald Trump suggests TV networks that criticize him could face losing their licenses after Jimmy Kimmel targeted MAGA on-air. It has become a clash over comedy, control and the future of free speech. Plus, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new CDC advisory board just altered the rules. Why your toddler might now receive two shots instead of one — …

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Deadly police shooting in PA, Trump praises Kimmel’s suspension: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 18, 2025 10:34

20d ago10:34

10:34

Three officers were gunned down while serving a warrant in Pennsylvania. A small rural town is now reeling from one of the deadliest days for law enforcement this year. Plus, the accused killer of Charlie Kirk feared police would shoot him on sight. Now we’re learning how his “gentle” surrender was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes. And Jimm…

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Reportaje Especial: Un Hogar Inesperado 28:26

21d ago28:26

28:26

Que onda friends! En los siguientes episodios contaremos con un par de reportajes especiales que se centran en los actuales desafíos migratorios en la región fronteriza. La migración es un tema contencioso y polarizante que a menudo los comentaristas políticos utilizan para golpetear a sus oponentes, pasando por alto las historias de las personas a…

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Kirk’s suspected killer’s texts revealed, FBI chief clashes with Congress: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 17, 2025 12:39

21d ago12:39

12:39

The man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk now faces seven felony charges, and prosecutors in Utah say they will seek the death penalty. Among the evidence is a text exchange where the alleged shooter appears to confess and outline his motive. Plus, the U.S. and China have reportedly reached a deal that allows TikTok to keep oper…

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Israel launches Gaza ground offensive, Charlie Kirk suspect set for court: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 16, 2025 10:03

22d ago10:03

10:03

Israel launches a major ground offensive in Gaza City, calling it a mission to crush Hamas. But with airstrikes intensifying and hostages still inside, critics say it’s a dangerous new escalation. Plus, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk appears before a judge Tuesday. Prosecutors may pursue the death penalty. Also, the F…

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Charlie Kirk suspect stays silent, US-Venezuela clash escalates: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 15, 2025 9:59

23d ago9:59

9:59

Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk, has refused to cooperate with investigators. However, authorities said they’re piecing together a clearer picture from forensic evidence, friends and family. Plus, the U.S. Navy intercepted a Venezuelan fishing boat. Washington, D.C., claimed it was a routine anti-drug operation, but Cara…

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Nidhi Mahajan, "Moorings: Voyages of Capital across the Indian Ocean" (U of California Press, 2025) 1:04:03

25d ago1:04:03

1:04:03

Moorings: Voyages of Capital across the Indian Ocean (U of California Press, 2025) follows sailors from the Gulf of Kachchh in India as they voyage across the Indian Ocean on mechanized wooden sailing vessels known as vahans, or dhows. These voyages produce capital through moorings that are spatial, moral, material, and conceptual. With a view from…

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Special Report: An Unexpected Home 27:41

26d ago27:41

27:41

Hello, friends! We have a couple of special reports focusing on current issues facing the borderlands: migration. Migration is a contentious and polarizing topic that pundits often use to score political points against their opponents, often overlooking the real stories of people caught in the middle of this deeply entrenched debate. These stories …

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New video of Charlie Kirk person of interest, Naval Academy hoax triggers lockdown: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 12, 2025 8:46

26d ago8:46

8:46

Investigators released new video and images of the shooting suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk at a Utah university. As the manhunt ramps up, mourners across the country gathered to remember the conservative commentator. Plus, what started as a false “active shooter” alert in Annapolis turned into a frightening lockdown — and ended with a…

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Susan M. Rigdon, "Oscar Lewis in Cuba: La Partida Final" (Berghahn Books, 2024) 1:07:48

26d ago1:07:48

1:07:48

American anthropologist Oscar Lewis secured permission from Fidel Castro to undertake three years of field research on cultural and economic change in Cuba in the decade after the victory of Castro's M-26 Movement. Oscar Lewis in Cuba: La Partida Final (Berghahn Books, 2024) delves into Lewis' research goals, methods, the training and composition o…

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Charlie Kirk killing sparks manhunt, Secret Service slip at Trump golf club: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 11, 2025 8:46

28d ago8:46

8:46

Utah’s governor called conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death a “political assassination.” The search for the alleged gunman who shot and killed Kirk during a college campus event continues. Plus, just miles from Columbine, another school shooting occurred. This time at Evergreen High in Colorado. One student has died, others have been wounded …

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Chelsi West Ohueri, "Encountering Race in Albania: An Ethnography of the Communist Afterlife" (Cornell UP, 2025) 51:10

27d ago51:10

51:10

Encountering Race in Albania: An Ethnography of the Communist Afterlife (Cornell University Press, 2025) is the first book to interrogate race and racial logics in Albania. Chelsi West Ohueri examines how race is made, remade, produced, and reproduced through constructions of whiteness, blackness, and otherness. She argues that while race is often …

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Poland shoots down Russian drones, Allies condemn Israel attack in Qatar: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 10, 2025 7:26

29d ago7:26

7:26

NATO fighter jets shot down more than a dozen Russian drones that crossed into Polish airspace overnight. Poland has called it an act of aggression. Plus, Israel’s airstrike in Doha, Qatar, killed several Hamas figures. It puts the U.S. in the hot seat as Washington scrambles to salvage peace talks. And President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs — o…

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Darcie Deangelo et al., "Demilitarizing the Future" (Anthem Press, 2025) 50:25

28d ago50:25

50:25

Demilitarizing the Future (Anthem Press, 2025) draws from art, anthropology, and activism to investigate the entrenchment of militarism in everyday lives and consider novel imaginaries of its dissolution--of peacemaking, community, and shared equitable futures. This book will be published in October of 2025. In this episode, Rebecca Kastleman, Darc…

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Jovana Diković, "The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia" (UCL Press, 2025) 55:05

28d ago55:05

55:05

What if rural progress isn’t about government intervention but about the self-reliance and ingenuity of peasants themselves? The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia (UCL Press, 2025) subverts conventional wisdom on rural development by shifting the focus from state-led planning to the agency of peasants themselves. Rej…

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Trump appears in fresh Epstein records, Chicago ICE raids underway: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 9, 2025 8:11

30d ago8:11

8:11

The House Oversight Committee releases new documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including a so-called “birthday book” with pages Democrats say contain Donald Trump’s name. The president insists the notes are fake. Plus, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launches “Operation Midway Blitz” — a federal crackdown targeting undocumented …

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Cold Rush 27:45

29d ago27:45

27:45

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Ingrid Piller speaks with Sari Pietikainen about her new book Cold Rush (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). This book is an original study of “Cold Rush,” an accelerated race for the extraction and protection of Arctic natural resources. The Northernmost reach of the planet is caught up in the double dev…

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ICE launches raids in Boston, Chicago braces for Trump crackdown: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 8, 2025 8:39

1M ago8:39

8:39

The White House announces Patriot 2.0, a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation targeting undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts. However, Boston’s mayor and the state’s governor have already pushed back. Plus, President Donald Trump’s fiery post about Chicago sparked outrage over the weekend, with images of helicopters and flames su…

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Ruth E. Toulson, "Necropolitics of the Ordinary: Death and Grieving in Contemporary Singapore" (U Washington Press, 2024) 58:30

1M ago58:30

58:30

Can a state make its people forget the dead? Cemeteries have become sites of acute political contestation in the city-state of Singapore. Confronted with high population density and rapid economic growth, the government has ordered the destruction of all but one burial ground, forcing people to exhume their family members. In Necropolitics of the O…

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Episodio Bonus: ¡Presentando Voices del Valle! 38:21

1M ago38:21

38:21

Como quizás ya sepan, hace un par de semanas, KPBS, en colaboración con la Spartan Sound Production de la Central Union High School, lanzó su primer podcast liderado por jóvenes: Voices del Valle Este podcast destaca historias de la juventud del Valle Imperial de California. Liderado por el Dr. Thomas Tacke y su clase de productores estudiantiles, …

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RFK Jr. faces Senate showdown, Venezuela jets confront US warship: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 5, 2025 8:27

1M ago8:27

8:27

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced combative questioning on Capitol Hill. Senators pressed him on vaccines, CDC firings and COVID-19 data. Plus, two Venezuelan fighter jets confronted a U.S. Navy destroyer in international waters, showing force after American warships shot down a suspected cartel drug boat. Also, a fede…

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Trump takes tariff fight to SCOTUS, Portugal mourns fatal cable car crash: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 4, 2025 8:50

1M ago8:50

8:50

President Donald Trump has requested the Supreme Court to intervene in his global tariff dispute. At stake are billions of dollars and his authority to implement broad trade measures under emergency powers. Plus, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring are warning that they’ll publish their own list of clients if Congress doesn’t take a…

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Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, "Landscapes of Warfare: Urartu and Assyria in the Ancient Middle East" (UP of Colorado, 2025) 58:49

1M ago58:49

58:49

Landscapes of Warfare: Urartu and Assyria in the Ancient Middle East (University Press of Colorado, 2025) by Dr. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni offers an in-depth exploration of the Urartian empire, which occupied the highlands of present-day Turkey, Armenia, and Iran in the early first millennium BCE. Lesser known than its rival, the Neo-Assyrian empire, …

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Xi, Putin and Kim showcase power in Beijing, 33,000 Epstein files dropped: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 3, 2025 9:38

1M ago9:38

9:38

In Beijing, three of the world’s most controversial leaders stood shoulder to shoulder at China’s biggest military parade in decades. President Donald Trump fired back, accusing the trio of conspiring against the United States. Plus, the U.S. military confirms it blew up a suspected Venezuelan cartel vessel in the Caribbean. The administration is c…

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Xi, Putin, Kim show military might; Maduro pushes back on US buildup: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 2, 2025 8:01

1M ago8:01

8:01

It’s a parade like no other. Beijing displays thousands of troops — and three of the world’s most controversial leaders — in a message directed straight at Washington, D.C. Plus, Venezuela’s Maduro says the U.S. military buildup off his coast is nothing short of a push for regime change. He warned Tuesday morning that any conflict could trigger the…

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Over 800 killed by 6.0 earthquake in Afghanistan, Epstein hearing scheduled: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 1, 2025 6:09

1M ago6:09

6:09

A killer earthquake shocked Afghanistan. This morning, hundreds are dead, and a desperate search for survivors is underway. Plus, some deportation flights to Guatemala were stopped after a last-minute court order involving unaccompanied children. And Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping partake in what they’re calling a security summit in China. We look a…

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Bonus Episode: Introducing Voices del Valle! 40:05

1M ago40:05

40:05

As you may already know, a couple of weeks ago, KPBS, in collaboration with Central Union High School's Spartan Sound Production, launched its very first youth-led podcast: Voices del Valle This podcast spotlights compelling coming-of-age stories from California's Imperial Valley. Led by Dr. Thomas Tacke and his class of student producers, this pod…

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Minneapolis gunman’s hate-filled manifesto, Border Patrol arrests firefighters: Unbiased Updates, Aug. 29, 2025 7:49

1M ago7:49

7:49

New details have emerged about the gunman who opened fire inside a Minneapolis Catholic school. Investigators said 23-year-old Robin Westman was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children and idolized some of the country’s most notorious mass murderers. Plus, at the CDC, the confusion continues. The White House has named Jim O’Neill as acting dir…